Turassian Magick
"To achieve greatness in Turas one must bend time, space, seek the divine favor, or call upon Daemons." '-Thadduan of Mezinkale after his unsucessful march on Jaedir' The use of magick is so rare on Turas for the common races that it is almost soley practiced by priests or fools. It is not only the most dangerous source of power, but the strongest. The strength lures many into the studies, making blood sacrifices to gods, spirits, and nymphae in attempts to win their favor. The effects of Soul-Burn is wicked and can be fatal, as well as Back-Casting. Due to how dangerous this study is there are very few factions that actually have integrated the use of Magick into the military, as it is often more dangerous to their own men than to the enemy. =Types of Magick= There are ten ways to obtain magickal powers in the world of Turas: Divining which involves devotion to the gods, Cuses and Hexes which involves offering the soul of another being in sacrifice, -Mancery which is an inborn power found only in certain bloodlines, Shamanism and Mysticism where one seeks to please ancient and powerful spirits in return for might, Druidic magick where mortals appeal to the Jade Lands and their queens, Void Sourcing where one pulls strain magick from unknown sources, Mystic Herbalism inwhich herbs are mixed in with shamanisitic magick, Transmutation where things are physically changed, Illusions, where mind tricks are played, and Spiritual Sources where strains of power is pulled from one's own soul. Divining The most powerful, yet least common form of magick, Divining is gaining divine favor most often through trials or rituals. Almost all mortals who master this become legends by their name, currently the mightiest Diviners on Turas are The Immortal One and King Illidishi of Loshedanda. A lesser-accepted, yet equally as uncommon way of divining is to obtain a godly artifact that enhances one to god-like strength. The effects of divining varies greatly, based on the deity inwhich the mortal had gained favor from. If one gained favor from Tyurz enough he would besow that mortal with incredable strength, size, good looks, and/or a sharp mind. Attanna may give that mortal mastery over fire. Oyzulot would make them beautiful, and have mastery over fire in day, and ice at night. The list goes on based on the god's control over what. Curse/Hexing The most common form of magick is the Curse. It goes by many names, Hex, Jynx, Curse, Back-lash, Misfortune, Peasant's Magick, etc... This is a simple way to win over a rival, simply write a curse tablet with divine symbols, obscure words, and foul intentions. On these tablets people must offer the soul of their rivals in sacrifice, and can even list what the curse shall do, though most curses go unanswered many still try dispite the failiure rate. The strongest curses are of those in Eucretian's name, where a special language must be used, written in a certain manner, accompanied with a certain type of paper, and even then the risk of back-casting is still there. Example of a Curse Tablet: "Oh ye great Attanna, mother of the sun! Bringer of flame! Mighty are ye, and weak is Slevial. A whore by her name, and in fires she must be purged this week. With her ashes shall her soul be offered to your greatness, oh mighty Attanna! Shlakaix! Dhoaai! Breeweask! Thy will shall go above all!" -Mancery Usually an aristocrat's form of magick -Mancery is practiced mostly in Jaedir. Be it Pyromancery, Chronomancry, Hydromancery, Necromancery, or whatever. These form os magick draw from one's own spiritual aura and the living souls around them. One must channel their deep desires and emotions into their spells, bulking them up until the point where they can hardly go without the need to act on these emotions, then quickly are the mancers to take in their surroundings without their eyes... then they may begin to safe-cast. Due to this, -Mancery is very risky, back-casting is very common, yet it is one of the most potentially powerful commoner's magick. Many civilizations outlaw this practice, and all of those save for Jaedir hold heavy laws on what can be taught and what can not in this subject concidering they are even allowed to spread this chaotic form of casting. Controversy The most commonly outlawed form of -mancry is Chronomancery, where Chronomancers have even been hunted down like witches, even if they are from a foreign land. An example of the hatred towards Mancers is the great massacre of Pyromancers dictated by Emperor Pah'Chon the Crazed. Nearly all of those Pyromancers were of Loshedandian citizenship, this had almost brought Glaenia and Loshedanda to war. Aurain of Jaedir had banished Necromancery under his reign, this had caused much controversy. The debates had gone on still five-hundred years after his death, even though Necromancry has been legal after Aurain's death. Itan Skal'Tu II himself banished Mancery to be taught in Glaenia, but Mancers will go unpunished, and may persue their practices outside Glaenian soil. Shamanism Mysticism The oldest form of magick in Turas, Shamanism and Mysticism relates to pleasing the spirits of ancestors into giving them might. Animals too can give power through totems and their species' hide worn upon the shaman. Most early tribes worshipped non-Orthodox pagan gods, animal spirits, and their ancestors, most scholars blame Shamanism for that, yet many traditional worshippers hold it true that Shamanism is living proof that their beliefs are correct. Herbs are often smoked, inhaled, or eaten to obtain visions and miracle-like powers. A shaman draws his energy from the spirits of his comrades and helping souls about him, and the effect determines on the type of shamans. A shaman of the bear, a form of berserker, can go into an adrenalated rage that surpasses humanity. Bardic/Druidic Magick The bardic and Druidic magick are quite powerful, drawing from the three champions of the Jade Lands; Fir'Khal, Ren'Chli, and Ghuf'hoin. These three are realativly peaceful to those who maintain balance, but the twin sisters can be more violent than Ghuf'hoin to even their druids. Fir'Khal offers her druids a shamanistic form of magick that requires no dance, no totems, and no sacrifice in battle... simply song and paint. Then certain patterns are painted upon soldiers Fir'Khal will bless them with minor blessings that will brow stronger as their courage, and as their courage and chanting gets the stronger their magick becomes. With Fir'Khal a mortal can become either as mighty as their animal they are praying to, or they can master the animal they are praying to. Ren'Chli offers extraordinary healing to the fallen with use of her leaves, she can also make mortals as mighty as an oak. Ghuf'hoin is a mysterious drudic cult, his bards sing loudly in the night and no scholar has returned from these rituals, yet there seems not to be any blood sacrifices... some assume they are hypnotizes or converted into the Druid's grove. Void Sourcing There is but one form of magick that has more strength to it than Divine intervention, and that is Void Sourcing. When this art is mastered the weilder becomes a lone army, able to even make gods some-what fearful. A great example of this is The Immortal One who was also a diviner of sorts. Void Sourcing is extremely dangerous, and back-casting ends many lives, infact it is rare for a Void Sourcer to live eight years after they begin. and by that time they have hardly begun to grasp the might of the Void. Some attirute Void Sourcing to the spawns of Eucretian or Azwert's Brood as they seem to have a great understanding of this magick, yet fear it as well as drawn to it in some bizarre manner. A skilled void-sourcer can control the very fabric of time, space, and mass. A human against this might can be driven insane if the Sourcer desires, or perhaps be torn limb from limb in mere seconds, or their organs may be slowly liquified... it is really all up to the dark and cruel thoughts of the weilder of the Void. Mystic Herbalism A potion making form of magick, often called Witch's magick. Mystic Herbalism has long since been banned in most civilized nations of Turas, and thus scholars know very little of it, and exactly how dangerous it is. Transmutation It is unknown to modern scholars how the barbarian tribes or the followers of Ghuf'hoin take form of animals, but one thing for certain is this is a deadly weapon. The mortal who can take form of a dire-beast is a fearful one. One pygmy tribe had used this magick to take form of elephants, rhinos, and lions to tear down resistance to their land. It is suspected that Transmutation is much like Shamanism. The valid arguments supporting this is that the effects work the same, and the drained casters seem to be drain like a shaman would. The support against this theory is that the transmutaters do not carry and totems of their animals with them all the time. Illusionism The art anf mastery of the Gnomes. Illusionism holds its roots to ancient Dwarf-men tribes from all over Turas, and when the proto-Orthodoxists encounrtered Illiusionists, they would assume them to be demons. It is now a dying practice with a well guarded secret as to how it is preformed, but most scholars assume it is based upon one's spirit or a form of -mancery. Though illusions do not physically harm people mostly, they can play mind games to drive victims crazy, or even mind-control them all togeather. Spiritual Sources =Back-Casting= =Soul-Burn= Category:Turas